Many work situations require workers to be positioned on top of platforms or vehicles that cannot be practically protected by a guardrail system enclosing the work surface. To prevent the workers from falling from such elevated positions and thereby sustaining serious or fatal injuries, various fall protection systems can be used. In general, fall arrest or fall protection systems are designed to prevent the worker from reaching an unprotected edge or to quickly stop a fall before the worker impacts a lower level. Such systems typically include a trolley secured to a structure overhead the work surface, a safety harness worn by the worker, and a lanyard interconnecting the trolley to the harness.
In using conventional fall arrest or fall protection systems, workers who fall from the work surface are carried by momentum a distance from the work surface. As a result, workers are left hanging from the trolley and lanyard until a third party or rescue team arrives at the scene to assist the worker. This can be extremely undesirable because if a worker is left hanging for an extended period of time, the worker may suffer from orthostatic intolerance or suspension trauma.
Thus, a need exists for a fall arrest apparatus, system and/or method that prevents a worker who falls from a work surface from suffering orthostatic intolerance and negates the need for third party assistance to rescue the worker.